I can't believe I wrote this. [Zac Efron/Taylor Swift RPF]
[intentional or not, I don't think we saw it coming.]
Zac Efron/Taylor Swift, 1100 words, pg
For zanessas prompt of bubblegum, grass-stains, scissors.
------
She first saw him on the red carpet. He was beautiful and bored, vacant eyes and practiced smile. Maybe to everyone else he looked ungrateful, posing for the endless flash and whir of the cameras, but to Taylor he looked trapped.
Lost inside layers of superficial Hollywood bubble wrap.
But then Joe came over, boundless ball of energetic ADD and she forgot what she was looking at.
---
She never had any difficulties adjusting to life in the limelight. It was what she always wanted anyways, so why try and fight it? She knew who she was, she knew what she wanted, no one was going to take that away from her.
Sure as hell not some pseudo ‘rock-star’ in skinny jeans who gave out promises of love as easy as he could take it away.
Taylor Swift was too good to let a Jonas Brother break her heart.
But she thought maybe he could. The boy with the vacant eyes.
If only she could figure him out.
---
Zac Efron talked to her on a warm Friday in February.
He had grass-stains on his artfully ripped in all the right places jeans, his hair was a little too long, hidden underneath a ratty old beanie, eyes behind the menacing black of his aviator shades. He looked real for once.
“You’re always watching me.” He’d pointed out matter-of-factly, twirling the keys to his expensive car between dexterous fingers.
“I’m sorry?” Taylor answered, confused from where she sat, having lunch at a street-side bistro. Her momma was inside getting more napkins.
“At those shitty excuses for award shows,” he licked his chapped lips, “you watch me.”
“I’m sorry, is it a crime to look at you?” she said back, frustrated and a little angry at his intrusion, “Should we all pay a toll to look at your million dollar face or something?”
Zac frowned, precarious wrinkle along his forehead, the corners of his lips turning downward. She didn’t know when she began to wonder if kissing him would make him smile.
“No, that’s not it at all.”
And then he walked back down the sidewalk.
Taylor replayed that conversation in her head all day.
---
The next time she saw him was at a gas station.
She was inside, flipping through the Tiger Beats for a laugh. Smirking at the shrines tweenage girls built up around these people in the glossy pages. She knew what they were all really like. If only they did too.
He came through the door, tell tale ding making her look up from Joe’s ugly smile in the magazine.
She didn’t bother hiding like he did in public, always lost in too big jeans and ugly hats and foreboding sunglasses, angry frown on his face so far different than that beautiful boy in the movies.
He walked down the aisle she was standing in, hovering around the displays of chewing gum like he couldn’t decide which flavor of mint to choose.
“You know the sugar-free stuff is up by the register,” She said offhandishly, turning to look at his back, “in case you’re scared of losing that boyish figure.”
He lifted the sunglasses off his nose, looking at her with crystalline eyes. Not vacant at all and too blue to be real really. It sort of knocked the wind out of her.
He reached over and grabbed a stick of Hubba Bubba, waving it around with a smirk.
“Think I’ll stick with this, thanks.” Zac said, turning to the register to pay for his gas.
Taylor followed him without hesitation.
“You always hang around in gas stations?” Zac asked her, sliding his American Express across the counter.
“My Mom’s getting gas,” she answered, pointing outside.
He looked over his shoulder and nodded.
“You spend a lot of time with your Mom?” he asked.
“Is that a problem for you?”
Taylor folded her arms over her chest, eyebrow arched defensively.
Zac smiled as he tucked his wallet back into his jeans. It might have been a real one too. He dug his nail into the wrapping of his bubblegum, pulling out a piece and unwrapping it, popping it into his upturned mouth. He pulled out another piece, handed it to her.
“See you around Taylor.”
She watched him drive away, sugary sweet taste of the chewing gum on her tongue.
---
She sat down and watched all his movies the next day. Wondering if he left behind any traces of himself in his characters. She scribbled down lyrics in her notebook. Would anyone recognize it was a song about Zac Efron?
She chewed on the end of her pen, thinking.
Probably not.
---
She spotted him at one of her concerts, lingering on the sidelines, hiding behind that same ratty old beanie.
She sang a little louder, played her guitar a little bit better, pretended she was singing for him.
But that was silly wasn’t it?
Afterwards, when she was out of her dress and into her t-shirt and jeans, he was still there.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend somewhere to annoy?”
“Nah,” Zac answered, “She’s not my girlfriend any more. Hasn’t been for a while.”
“So am I the substitute?”
“If that’s your way of asking me out,” he’d smiled, and yeah, that one was real. That little twitch of his lips, that was real. “It sort of sucked.” Zac finished.
Her heart beat a little louder at that.
“I don’t ask boys out,” Taylor smiled, “I’m sort of old fashioned that way.”
“You’re missing out then.” Zac replied easily, still smiling.
Looking at him, Taylor thought that all that Hollywood was scrubbed away. All the grime and make-up and persona, all that was wiped clean and what was left was just Zac.
“Do you,” she paused, she’d never done this before, boys had always been easy, but now she wasn’t so sure, “Do you want to go out sometime?”
Zac stepped forward, stepped closer, “That wasn’t so hard, right?”
Closer still, until she could count his ridiculously long eyelashes, feel his sweet breath on her cheek.
Taylor shook her head, shivered as his hand trailed up her arm.
“You gonna kiss me now or not?” She said frustrated, impatient with his slow grin.
“Yeah,” he laughed softly, cupping her face in his hand.
He pressed his lips to hers, chapped and cracked, but still so amazing. When he licked his way inside, they both tasted like bubblegum.
---
Weeks later, at the premier of Zac’s new movie, Taylor would look over at him. He’d look back at her with an easy grin, eyes a light.
He wouldn’t look so trapped anymore.
[end].
I seriously, can not believe I just wrote that. Emily, I must really love you.
Zac Efron/Taylor Swift, 1100 words, pg
For zanessas prompt of bubblegum, grass-stains, scissors.
------
She first saw him on the red carpet. He was beautiful and bored, vacant eyes and practiced smile. Maybe to everyone else he looked ungrateful, posing for the endless flash and whir of the cameras, but to Taylor he looked trapped.
Lost inside layers of superficial Hollywood bubble wrap.
But then Joe came over, boundless ball of energetic ADD and she forgot what she was looking at.
---
She never had any difficulties adjusting to life in the limelight. It was what she always wanted anyways, so why try and fight it? She knew who she was, she knew what she wanted, no one was going to take that away from her.
Sure as hell not some pseudo ‘rock-star’ in skinny jeans who gave out promises of love as easy as he could take it away.
Taylor Swift was too good to let a Jonas Brother break her heart.
But she thought maybe he could. The boy with the vacant eyes.
If only she could figure him out.
---
Zac Efron talked to her on a warm Friday in February.
He had grass-stains on his artfully ripped in all the right places jeans, his hair was a little too long, hidden underneath a ratty old beanie, eyes behind the menacing black of his aviator shades. He looked real for once.
“You’re always watching me.” He’d pointed out matter-of-factly, twirling the keys to his expensive car between dexterous fingers.
“I’m sorry?” Taylor answered, confused from where she sat, having lunch at a street-side bistro. Her momma was inside getting more napkins.
“At those shitty excuses for award shows,” he licked his chapped lips, “you watch me.”
“I’m sorry, is it a crime to look at you?” she said back, frustrated and a little angry at his intrusion, “Should we all pay a toll to look at your million dollar face or something?”
Zac frowned, precarious wrinkle along his forehead, the corners of his lips turning downward. She didn’t know when she began to wonder if kissing him would make him smile.
“No, that’s not it at all.”
And then he walked back down the sidewalk.
Taylor replayed that conversation in her head all day.
---
The next time she saw him was at a gas station.
She was inside, flipping through the Tiger Beats for a laugh. Smirking at the shrines tweenage girls built up around these people in the glossy pages. She knew what they were all really like. If only they did too.
He came through the door, tell tale ding making her look up from Joe’s ugly smile in the magazine.
She didn’t bother hiding like he did in public, always lost in too big jeans and ugly hats and foreboding sunglasses, angry frown on his face so far different than that beautiful boy in the movies.
He walked down the aisle she was standing in, hovering around the displays of chewing gum like he couldn’t decide which flavor of mint to choose.
“You know the sugar-free stuff is up by the register,” She said offhandishly, turning to look at his back, “in case you’re scared of losing that boyish figure.”
He lifted the sunglasses off his nose, looking at her with crystalline eyes. Not vacant at all and too blue to be real really. It sort of knocked the wind out of her.
He reached over and grabbed a stick of Hubba Bubba, waving it around with a smirk.
“Think I’ll stick with this, thanks.” Zac said, turning to the register to pay for his gas.
Taylor followed him without hesitation.
“You always hang around in gas stations?” Zac asked her, sliding his American Express across the counter.
“My Mom’s getting gas,” she answered, pointing outside.
He looked over his shoulder and nodded.
“You spend a lot of time with your Mom?” he asked.
“Is that a problem for you?”
Taylor folded her arms over her chest, eyebrow arched defensively.
Zac smiled as he tucked his wallet back into his jeans. It might have been a real one too. He dug his nail into the wrapping of his bubblegum, pulling out a piece and unwrapping it, popping it into his upturned mouth. He pulled out another piece, handed it to her.
“See you around Taylor.”
She watched him drive away, sugary sweet taste of the chewing gum on her tongue.
---
She sat down and watched all his movies the next day. Wondering if he left behind any traces of himself in his characters. She scribbled down lyrics in her notebook. Would anyone recognize it was a song about Zac Efron?
She chewed on the end of her pen, thinking.
Probably not.
---
She spotted him at one of her concerts, lingering on the sidelines, hiding behind that same ratty old beanie.
She sang a little louder, played her guitar a little bit better, pretended she was singing for him.
But that was silly wasn’t it?
Afterwards, when she was out of her dress and into her t-shirt and jeans, he was still there.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend somewhere to annoy?”
“Nah,” Zac answered, “She’s not my girlfriend any more. Hasn’t been for a while.”
“So am I the substitute?”
“If that’s your way of asking me out,” he’d smiled, and yeah, that one was real. That little twitch of his lips, that was real. “It sort of sucked.” Zac finished.
Her heart beat a little louder at that.
“I don’t ask boys out,” Taylor smiled, “I’m sort of old fashioned that way.”
“You’re missing out then.” Zac replied easily, still smiling.
Looking at him, Taylor thought that all that Hollywood was scrubbed away. All the grime and make-up and persona, all that was wiped clean and what was left was just Zac.
“Do you,” she paused, she’d never done this before, boys had always been easy, but now she wasn’t so sure, “Do you want to go out sometime?”
Zac stepped forward, stepped closer, “That wasn’t so hard, right?”
Closer still, until she could count his ridiculously long eyelashes, feel his sweet breath on her cheek.
Taylor shook her head, shivered as his hand trailed up her arm.
“You gonna kiss me now or not?” She said frustrated, impatient with his slow grin.
“Yeah,” he laughed softly, cupping her face in his hand.
He pressed his lips to hers, chapped and cracked, but still so amazing. When he licked his way inside, they both tasted like bubblegum.
---
Weeks later, at the premier of Zac’s new movie, Taylor would look over at him. He’d look back at her with an easy grin, eyes a light.
He wouldn’t look so trapped anymore.
[end].
I seriously, can not believe I just wrote that. Emily, I must really love you.